Phil Steele's College Football Preview magazine picked The University of Tennessee at Martin to win the Ohio Valley Conference championship.
    The magazine is on sale at various retail outlets until Oct. 31. The magazine includes 100 pages of Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) coverage.
    "While UT Martin slipped from 9-3 to 4-7 there are some key indicators which show they should have better success this year," the magazine states in its forecast on the Skyhawks.
    Among those indicators are 16 returning starters, the third most in the OVC. The Skyhawks also return quarterback Cade Thompson who threw for 1,034 yards and completed 65.3 percent of his passes.
    "Talent wise I can understand how we could be picked to win the league," said Jason Simpson, the Skyhawks third-year head coach. "Now if we play like we did at the beginning of last season; or if we are not focused; or if we should suffer from injuries then we could finish sixth like we did a last year."
    The magazine also named wide receiver Roren Thomas, offensive guard Kevin Bannon and defensive lineman Ray Williams to its preseason All-OVC first team. Defensive lineman Nate Wilson and defensive back Dontrell Miller were named to magazine's All-OVC second team.

(Read the rest of this story in this week's edition of the Dresden Enterprise!)

    While Major League Baseball took a few days off for its annual Midsummer Classic, the all-star game, and the home run derby, Donley Canary, the head softball coach at the University of Tennessee at Martin, found a home run hitter for his Skyhawks' this spring.
    Canary signed Paige Katchur from Brentwood High School to a scholarship. Katchur, who played shortstop for the Lady Bruins and head coach Jamie Chiarello, set a new school record for most home runs hit in a single season(15).
    Katchur had a .541 batting average and drove in 42 runs. She also sported a .975 fielding percentage her senior year. She hit 24 career home runs at Brentwood.
    "Paige is an outstanding young talent," Canary said. "She can play anywhere on the left side of the infield and she can play the outfield. She has tremendous pop in her bat, and is a slick fielding shortstop. We anticipate her to challenge for a starting position in our lineup."
    Katchur earned All-Midstate and All-State first team honors this past season at Brentwood. She helped the Lady Bruins win three consecutive district and regional crowns and advanced to the state tournament three consecutive years.
    Katchur and the Lady Bruins also advanced to the state tournament three consecutive seasons. The team claimed a third-place finish in 2006.
 

(Read the rest of this story in this week's edition of the Dresden Enterprise!)